Michelle Smirnova, Phd

Michelle Smirnova is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Rice University and the inaugural Director of the Center for Housing and Neighborhoods at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. 

Her critically acclaimed book, The Prescription-to-Prison Pipeline (Duke, 2023), provides an often-overlooked perspective on the "opioid epidemic": from those who have been criminalized for their use. Similar to her other work, she seeks to learn from and build power with those who have had their knowledge discredited or silenced by systems of power. You can read more about The Prescription-to-Prison Pipeline and her second book, Tenant Power: How to Grow a Housing Justice Movement, which is under contract with Princeton University Press, on the Books page. Most of her other research has been published as peer-reviewed articles, but she has also appeared in public outlets like NPR, The Washington Post, and The Hill.

From 2024-2025, Dr. Smirnova served as the qualitative lead on the $1.3 million KC Violence Prevention Fund evaluation team, working to center the voices of those directly impacted by gun violence in order to better understand its root causes and identify collective solutions.​

In addition to these roles, Dr. Smirnova works as a research fellow for the Frameworks Institute and serves on a number of citywide boards in Kansas City, including the Kansas City Community Land Trust and The Kanas City Public Library. Previously, she worked at the US Census Bureau.

Dr. Smirnova earned her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MA and PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park.